More on Neely Ranch

Neely Ranch with ramada at end of greenbelt

Though the conceptual planning had started many months before, the actual work of making Neely Ranch a reality started in 1993, though construction on the third phase was not finished until 1998. (So the trees have had 8 to 10 years to grow; this is helpful in envisioning Morrison Ranch’s trees in the very near future) I was a farmer’s wife, and used to waiting; we wait for the weather, we wait for the crops to grow, we wait for the cotton-ginning to be completed, we wait for the payments for the cotton to come in; so I thought I knew a thing or two about waiting. Was I ever wrong! Growing communities takes a whole lot longer than growing cotton crops, and there’s a lot more uncertainty in just about every detail. But we had good advisors, and the Mister is endowed with a healthy dose of common sense and good nature, and beyond all that, we are people of faith, which is the real reason we weathered the bumpy ride through our first project.

One of the notable memories I have involves the town council meeting where we were seeking approval for the community. The Mister and his family have long been involved in community affairs and serving in various capacities, but this was a first-time experience for us. As it happened, that was the very evening that the Mister’s mother was the Mistress of Ceremonies at the presentation of the oral histories (This was a project for the town of Gilbert to gather its history from its older residents). Ironically, a large percentage of the oral histories were prepared by the Mister’s mother and other Neely family members. She was well received. At the same time, a woman got up to speak during the public comments portion of the meeting. With a baby on her hip, she pleaded for a rural, homey atmosphere to be maintained in Gilbert. With that introduction, one of the council members stated that there was a project in the works that promised to be just that: Neely Ranch. The vote was unanimous to approve the plans for Neely Ranch. After the meeting, one of the town council members approached the Mister and asked how quickly he could plan on moving in to the project; this town council member wanted to live in Neely Ranch.

Ah, if only all the town council meetings had been so pleasant! But I digress.

Our desire for Neely Ranch was that it might become an example of the sort of community we wished to create. It was especially important to us to try to do it right because it is on the family homestead site. The Neely Ranch residents have the bonus of having Bias For Action live right there, and he has been involved in many of the details of the community. (He even bought a little tractor and painted it and placed it next to the ramada by the big park for kids to play on, just like he had played on tractors as a kid. It was later removed due to safety concerns. Sigh.) We learned a lot in those years, and applied that experience to the planning and execution of Morrison Ranch.

So the next time you drive down Elliot a ways, notice Neely Ranch just before you hit Cooper, especially the trees; and then envision Morrison Ranch with some giant pine trees and shady ash and elm; I can't wait.